Marquette Travels To Seton Hall Sunday Afternoon
12/30/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
TV Info: FS1 | Radio Info: 540 ESPN
The Marquette University men's basketball team (10-3, 1-0 BIG EAST) continues BIG EAST Conference play at Seton Hall (10-3, 0-1 BIG EAST) on Sunday, Jan. 1 at 3:30 p.m. CT in the Prudential Center. FS1 will feature Marquette's 14th national television broadcast of the campaign, with Brian Custer (play-by-play) and Donny Marshall (analyst) calling the action. Following Sunday's game, Marquette will travel to No. 1 Villanova on Jan. 7.
Series With Seton Hall Dates Back To 1956
The Golden Eagles have claimed 15 of the 20 all-time meetings with Seton Hall, with all but one of the matchups coming after MU joined the BIG EAST Conference in 2005-06.
SHU opened the series with a 96-78 victory over Marquette on March 17, 1956 in MU's first-ever appearance in the National Invitation Tournament in New York. The next meeting wouldn't come until 50 years later when Marquette moved to the BIG EAST. Since that outing on Jan. 11, 2006, MU has claimed all but four of the contests, but the Pirates were able to sweep the season series in 2015-16.
League Schedule Provides Quick Rematch
Sunday's matchup with Seton Hall will mark the first of two between the two programs in just over a week.
In a league schedule quirk, the Golden Eagles and Pirates will conclude their home-and-home series on Jan. 11 when SHU visits the BMO Harris Bradley Center. Because of MU's first conference bye the week of Jan. 2, the team will take on Seton Hall twice in three games, with a Jan. 7 matchup at No. 1 Villanova in between outings.
Howard Impresses In BIG EAST Debut
Freshman guard Markus Howard, who has yet to celebrate his 18th birthday, looked like a seasoned veteran in his BIG EAST Conference debut for the Golden Eagles.
The Chandler, Arizona native led the team with a personal-best 23 points in just 21 minutes of action due to foul trouble. He finished 7-of-10 from the floor overall and 5-of-6 from behind the 3-point line. Howard also found time to chip in two rebounds, a pair of assists and two steals.
Howard's point total was the most ever by a Marquette freshman in his respective BIG EAST debut and most by any player regardless of year since junior Jae Crowder netted 29 against West Virginia in 2011-12.
Freshman Duo Efficient Offensive Contributor
Freshmen Sam Hauser and Markus Howard quickly established themselves as key contributors in 2016-17, especially at the offensive end.
The duo has had little difficulty making the transition to the collegiate level and as a result is producing at an impressive clip from the field. Hauser (.513) and Howard (.507) are both shooting better than 50 percent from the floor overall and each is ranked among the league leaders in 3-point field goal percentage and treys made per game.
Hauser and Howard have combined to shoot 55-of-109 (50.5 percent) from long distance and 3-pointers account for 71.4 percent of the tandem's made field goals this season.
